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Hutchinson, Kansas
Salt City Striders Home Page
| YOUNG'INS A RUNNIN! YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD RUN! |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------All children are runners. It comes naturally and they consider it fun! They run in the house, to the car, in the yard, and even at the swimming pool. Their normal style is to run as fast as they can, walk a few steps, and then take off again. This works fine at the playground but can be a bit tricky when in a crowded road race with adults (the Wichita River Run 2 miler comes to mind, I only ran it once). If you are an adult you have to be careful not to trip over the little ones when they suddenly stop in front of you, just rejoice in the fact that they are among the elite few who exercise like this. Since there is an obesity epidemic occuring even in young children today, it is important that you and I encourage our children and grandchildren to take up running as a lifelong hobby. It will help to keep them fit and trim and to build up confidence in their physical abilities, even at a young age. The best way to interest children in running is to be a role model and run yourself, not just in practice but in road races as well. Also, take the little one out to practice running with you sometimes. Even though you may not get a hard workout you will be spending valuable time with them and teaching them that it is important to be a disiplined runner. You cannot quit half way through an out and back run because you have to go to the car- it will not come to you! Also, teach them to pace themselves. I tell my 5 year old granddaughter, Taniyah, to go as fast as she can in a 50 yard sprint, to run a little faster and walk very little in a 1 mile race, to run just a little slower and walk some in a 2 mile race. We took her on one non competitive 5K run with us last Thanksgiving here in Hutchinson and I made here go slow and walk a lot as we were going further that she had ever gone before. She got a little tired toward the end but made it and sprinted across the finish line. This raises the question, how far should children run? Even though 7 and 8 year olds have ran marathons, it is not recommended. The concern is too much really long distance running could damage the growth plates in their legs, even though I have never heard of a case where this actually happened. Common sense would tell you that children can run a distance where they do not get overly tired or overly hot. It is a fact that children's bodies cannot control heat like adult bodies can. Taniyah ran her first race at age 1 year and 11 months in Kingman, Ks and it was a 50 yarder. At age 3 she ran her first miler and at age 4 raced several 2 milers quite handily, sprinting at the end. Even most high schools limit their cross country races to the 5K distance of 3.1 miles, although many of them seem to overtrain the children in practice. I guess it is a matter of philosophy, many high schools and colleges are interested in a successful sports program which requires being very competitive and winning. My personal philosophy is to pace yourself and enjoy sports, looking at it not as if the whole world depended on Fridays game or Saturdays race, but rather that you plan on being a lifelong athlete and keep in mind what is best for you on a long term basis. Maybe thats why I was never a great athlete or won a bunch of races, but it is also why I am still running 35 races a year at age 63. Many of my friends and former running comrades have given up running and exercising due to injury or burn out or lack of interest or time. Whatever your philosophy about running is, please take the time to teach it to your children and grandchildren, the neighbors child, or any other youth that will listen to you. Get them interest in running, and they can share in a lifetime of health and good times! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why not join the Salt City Strider Running Club here in Hutchinson. We offer a monthly newletter and website that reports your race times, pizza parties, a Christmas Light run, and the comraderie of some of the nicest runners in the state! Only $10.00 for a single membership or $20.00 for a family membership. There is even an entry form available for printing right from this web site. |
LAST UPDATED AUGUST 12, 2010---------- IF YOU HAVE A RACE YOU WANT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR, EMAIL US USING THE "EMAIL US" BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE HIKE-BIKE TRAILS IN HUTCH IS NOW OPEN FROM THE 3800 BLOCK OF NORTH PLUM ALL THE WAY TO 30TH STREET A LITTLE EAST OF THE BOWLING ALLEY.------------------------------------------------THERE IS A PLACE JUST OFF PLUM STREET TO PARK AND ACCESS A PAVED TRAIL AND IF YOU GO ALL THE WAY TO 30TH AND BACK IT IS 3 3/4 MILES. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THANK YOU CITY OF HUTCHINSON!!!!!!!
| Race-Name | Distance | Location | Contact |
| OLD SETTLERS RUN/WALK | STARTS AT THE TRAIN DEPOT ON THE MAIN ROAD GOING INTO HALSTEAD FROM 50 HWY, THEY HAVE A 2 MILE AND A 5K, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AN ENTRY FORM BUT YOU CAN SIGN UP THAT DAY, THEY HAVE A UNIQUE POPSICKLE STICK METHOD OF RECORDING YOUR FINISH POSITION, A NICE LITTLE RACE | STARTS AT 7:30 AM |
We strive to be accurate when giving unofficial race results and information but please consult the official results and race information sites if accuracy is important to you!